Thesis writing is an enterprise which integrates knowledge of different domains, i.e. the subject’s content, rhetoric, academic discourse, the genre they are writing, and research skills (Bartholomae, 1985; Read, et al. 2001; Johns, et al. 2006). The integration of these elements makes thesis writing a challenging endeavour, especially when facing it for first time, as is the case for undergraduates. Thesis writing at undergraduate level becomes more challenging when the writing is in a foreign language. In Mexico, undergraduate students are often required to write a thesis in English. However, researching writing at undergraduate level has sometimes been undervalued as undergraduates are considered to lack an authorial voice (Helms-Park & Stapleton, 2003; Stapleton, 2002). Based on the premise that every piece of writing contains voice (Ivanič, 1998), an element of authorial identity, I focus my research on exploring authorial identity. In my study I analyse how undergraduates, novice writers, express authorial identity across their dissertation chapters. I propose a framework for the analysis of authorial identity (Ivanič, 1998, Hyland, 2010, 2012) and communicative functions, and apply it to a corpus of undergraduate dissertations. The corpus consists of 30 dissertations that are written in English as Foreign Language in the area of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Applied Linguistics (TESOL/AL) and translation. The framework includes analysis of first person pronouns, passives, impersonal constructions, reporting verbs and evaluative adjectives, which were found to be keywords in these dissertations compared to a reference corpus (the British English 2006 or BE06 corpus). The framework I propose will facilitate the analysis of the writer’s identity and communicative functions as they occur in each chapter of their dissertations. I also include a case study focussing on one participant with the aim of integrating the suggested framework with awareness and understanding of the participant’s self-presentation as a writer. I include some pedagogical implications for L2 writing research, suggesting that students could be made aware of the full range of choices available in academic writing and how they project different authorial identities. I close my thesis by exemplifying the framework within my own case of authorial identity and with a reflection on the authorial identity of speakers of other languages in dissertation writing.

ability classroom, is not only that pleasure reading is somewhat marginalized, but, most importantly the significance of reading attitudes and subsequent reading habits, generally, are not factored. This study reports on an investigation of 9 Greek, dyslexic and typically developed, EFL learners' (L2) reading attitudes and habits within a mixed ability EFL classroom, aiming at identifying the perceived effect(s) that the use and reading of comic books had on them. A case study method was employed whereby multiple tools of data collection were used across 6 weeks during Spring 2014. Tools included: McKenna and Kear's (1990) Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS), Semi-Structured, Focused Interviews, Targeted Questionnaires, Field Notes derived from Participant Observations, and Focus Group-like Literature Circle Discussion Groups. The data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS (quantitative data) and content analysis (qualitative data). Findings suggest that participants, dyslexic and typical, held mostly positive, yet, utilitarian views of English reading and learning, and did not generally engage in English pleasure reading, despite mostly liking reading and learning English. Moreover, by the end of the study, extensive comic reading was shown to be an effective means by which to engage learners in reading and reading-related practices, such as active participation in Literature Circle Discussion Groups and a comic book borrowing library. Additional findings indicate that most participants were gradually more interested, enthusiastic, willing and dynamic in their participation, providing longer, more accurate responses as the study progressed. Upon completion of the study, practically all students, as well as their parents and EFL teacher supported witnessing some beneficial effect on the students' reading attitudes and habits. The data lends itself to the conclusion that extensive comic reading and comic-related reading practices may be of benefit to developing positive reading attitudes and habits to English reading, as well as numerous other skills, indirectly and/or directly, effected and enhanced via the procedures (reading speeds, comprehension, oral and vocabulary skills and positive group dynamics). This study emphasizes the significance of considering learners', dyslexic or otherwise, reading attitudes as well as interest, during the curriculum design and teaching practices of (EFL) educators.

This thesis is an ethnographic study of adolescent migrants in a South London secondary school. It examines what happens when young people from very different backgrounds encounter the education system in the UK. Very often, they are classified as ‘EAL’ (because they use English as an additional language) and are required to learn the majority language so that they can access the curriculum. I argue that this needs rethinking to take account of the skills, experiences and aspirations of the young people. The thesis is organised into three main parts. The first describes the setting and the broader context, and sets out the methodology that I follow in this study. The second contains the four analytical chapters; the third brings the discussion together, identifying the main findings and discussing the implications for practitioners, schools, policymakers and for the wider debates around migration, language and education. The study develops an innovative theoretical framework that analyses classrooms as spaces of ‘contact’ between young people with very different past experiences. It shows how their migration ‘trajectories’ are a crucial resource as they make sense of the school, and how they draw together resources from other times and places as they do (a process I describe as ‘networking’). The study also shows classrooms to be complex sociolinguistic environments with distinct interactional spaces, allowing the young people great flexibility as they encounter and negotiate the institution and each other. Increasing numbers of young people are moving through the education system in ways that were not foreseen even a few decades ago. Too often, they are defined in terms of linguistic deficiency and their experience of other ways of learning is ignored. This thesis argues for the urgent need to rethink that positioning, and offers an analytical framework to do so.

The aim of this research is to investigate lexical cohesion patterns in expository texts written by Arabic speaking students of English in the EFL Program at the Lebanese American University. Specifically, it investigates whether such patterns are an indicator of writing quality and whether there are differences between high and low holistically rated texts and study language (English and French) at the same level. The procedure entailed selecting a random sample of 40 texts, 20 rated high and 20 rated low, from a corpus of 202 texts written at the beginning of the academic year 1993-94 (Diagnostic Test 1) and the same students' re-writing on the same topic at the end of the semester after three months of regular instruction (Diagnostic Test 2). The findings indicate that there were no significant relations between lexical cohesion as identified by the frequency of bonds or bond distance and text level, but there were significant relations between frequency of a few types of links and text level indicating writing quality. There were no significant relations between study language at the same level on all variables. However, the high rated texts showed significantly higher frequencies of 1) 'sophisticated' types of links 2) bonded pairs of sentences over longer distances and 3) 'sophisticated' types of repetition in adjacent sentences. This indicates more maturity in writing than that found in the texts produced by the less proficient students. This also confirmed the holistic ratings of the texts. Findings further indicate that the sample sub texts formed from the highly bonded sentences showed satisfactory coherence ratings of organization of ideas. Together with the comments and suggestions of the students this confirmed the lexical cohesion analysis results and initial holistic text ratings. Based on the findings, a model showing the relation between cohesion and coherence is suggested.

There seems to be a significant gap in research on how teachers develop EAP teaching - learning materials and the various types of problems they encounter when developing these materials. This is regardless of whether the teaching is for English for General Purposes or English for Academic Purposes (EAP). This study explores how training in EAP materials development might be improved, and it sets out:;(1) to develop a task-based materials Framework and then. (2) to explore its effectiveness with trainees on the context of a Malaysian university (Universiti Pertanian Malaysia [UPMS]). In devising the Framework, guidance was sought from task and content-based approaches to language teaching, genre theory, Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives, a needs survey and various other sources. The Framework was trialled with Malaysian teachers studying at various British universities and further revised. To evaluate and explore the effectiveness of the Framework an intact group or within - subjects design and workshop procedures were used. A materials design course already exists at UPM and hence the method taught could be compared with the use of the Framework. One hundred and seven pre and in-service TESL teachers participated in this comparison and they designed materials by the existing method, and then using the Framework. The attitudes of the teachers, their perceptions of the Framework, and the materials produced, were compared and analysed using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods. These included questionnaires before and after the experience, a 'Materials Evaluation Checklist' and a collaborative progress log which the teachers kept. The results show a significant improvement in the materials produced, and in the attitudes, beliefs and perception of the teachers, when the Framework is used.

Reading instruction in Taiwan and elsewhere has traditionally focused on intensive classroom teaching. Such an approach may prove successful in terms of scores on reading tests or grades in courses. The problem is that it simply is not complete; it does not cultivate a reader who chooses to read. Therefore, there has been a call for free voluntary reading to complement reading instruction, to extend and consolidate its effectiveness (e.g. Nuttall, 1996; Eskey and Grabe, 1988). Although free voluntary reading has been claimed by L1 and L2 educators to be beneficial for language and cognitive development (e.g. Krashen, 1993b), there are only a few research studies which have investigated it and even less research has been undertaken in Taiwan to determine its benefits. Unfamiliarity with free voluntary reading and a lack of appreciation of its likely benefits led to considerable difficulties in gaining access to readers in Taiwan to implement an experimental programme. In this study, sixty-three college freshmen, studying at two universities in Taiwan, participated in a free voluntary reading programme. The thesis described the free voluntary reading activities of the college freshmen. It tried to assess the extent and the variety of their reading attitudes, reading habits, and perceptions about reading for enjoyment. In particular, it attempts to identify the differences between comparison groups varying in gender, university, continuity of reading, and test achievement scores. Data in the study is drawn from reading questionnaires, grammar proficiency tests, and reading journals. The test results showed an improvement in particular with those subjects who continued free voluntary reading throughout the experiment. From questionnaires and reading journals, three problems that hampered free voluntary activities were identified: vocabulary problem, faulty reading habits and attitude, and inability to locate suitable reading material.

This thesis sought to explore how Lebanese, specifically AUB, males and females create their gender identities in English and Arabic in a multicultural society, Lebanon. I explore the relationship between gender, culture (ideology) and linguistic practice. My research aims to answer the following questions: To what extent does what we say reflect our ideology and affect our gender identity? Do we perform gender according to the cultural norms (ideology) of the language we are speaking? Does learning or speaking a foreign language affect our gender performance in the native language? I.e. does the ideology of the foreign culture affect our performance of gender in the native language or vice versa? I decided to use non-probability purposive sampling. I administered an open-ended questionnaire to gain background information about participants. The study used semi-structured individual interview, single sex friendship focus group interviews and mixed sex friendship focus group interviews. The previously mentioned conceptual framework was the first planning stage of the process of data analysis. The second stage involved first, description and reduction of the data, second, displaying and classification and, third, interpretation and drawing conclusions. To analyze the data, I referred to three analytic concepts of discourse psychology: interpretive repertories, ideological dilemmas, and subject positions.;Findings revealed that (1) through discourse, males and females perform different feminine and masculine identities. (2) There is not one way of performing masculinity or femininity but there is a range of masculinities and femininities even when speaking the same language because different interpretive repertories imply different subject positions: (3) When people learn and use a foreign language in the mother country, they might either undergo different degrees of transformations in their understanding of gender or might use the foreign language only as a means of translating their native language culture i.e. find words to express gender ideologies of their native language culture. Participants whose gender performances undergo transformations when they learn a FL, may have either reached a level of social and cultural awareness that is in harmony with the foreign language culture or is living a duality (an ideological dilemma).

The research discussed in this thesis is based upon a programme of study in a Libyan university, which focused on the use of the Internet in the classroom in order to enhance English language teaching and learning. In the last few decades, information and communication technology (ICT) has strongly influenced society as well as education as it has become a part of daily life, offering access to a world of knowledge. This thesis describes, through a single case study, how three teachers at the University of Benghazi collaborated in the use of a ‘Lesson Study’ approach, in order to engage a group of English as Foreign Language (EFL) students in an e-learning teaching programme. The Lesson Study approach is a technique in Action Research whereby teachers work collaboratively to improve their pedagogy by observing the teaching as well as the learning as they teach students. This study explores university rationales for using ICT, by means of a case study in which myself, teachers and school managers were engaged in a pilot project which implemented ICT in teaching. My interest in researching this topic started while working at the University of Benghazi as an EFL teacher, as described above. In this role, I had an interest in contributing to the improvement of teaching practices in Libya in general and the University of Benghazi in particular. I began to do this by improving my own pedagogical practices and by creating opportunities for developing practice within the department. The study was prompted by a set of concerns that emerged as a result of my own English language teaching practice at my university. I found that even though students were happy to learn English, they could not practise the language in authentic situations, because in Libya English is not generally spoken outside the classroom. I discuss a curriculum initiative devised to tackle these concerns, directed towards engaging students to learn in a technology-based, collaborative, cognitively demanding and intercultural way. The broad aim of the study was to investigate how Libyan students’ current English literacy practices might be enhanced by using the Internet and E-learning strategies and how the Internet may be used as a medium to further assist the students’ English learning development. Through an extensive and in- depth use of literature, drawing on journals, articles, books and previous research studies, this thesis also explores some of the possibilities of the Internet in developing differing styles of classroom pedagogy and the 7 implications of incorporating the Internet into existing programme design and curriculum. It also reports on the way in which Lesson Study was used as a professional development strategy in a new setting and to discuss its effectiveness in research. In terms of the methodology, interview data was combined with questionnaire data and analysed. Support was found for a preparative rationale, a pedagogical rationale and a motivational rationale among teachers and students. Some limitations in this study needed to be bridged in order to build a widely supported vision and policy plan on conducting this thesis. The significant findings from this study include the observation that the lesson studies process contributed to bringing about change in teacher pedagogy. The major issues highlighted by these findings include the need to make changes to teacher practice and the way that the Lesson Study programme, as an Action Research model, impacted directly and positively upon teacher pedagogy, with an observed increase in student motivation for learning. These findings therefore have implications for the teachers of Higher Education in Libya if they are going to make sustainable pedagogical changes that will positively impact on student learning and outcomes.

The research involving Arabic Writing System (WS) is quite limited. Yet, researching writing errors of L2WS Arabic against a certain L1WS seems to be relatively neglected. This study attempts to identify, describe, and explain common orthographic errors in Arabic writing amongst English-speaking learners. First, it outlines the Arabic Writing System’s (AWS) characteristics and available empirical studies of L2WS Arabic. This study embraced the Error Analysis approach, utilising a mixed-method design that deployed quantitative and qualitative tools (writing tests, questionnaire, and interview). The data were collected from several institutions around the UK, which collectively accounted for 82 questionnaire responses, 120 different writing samples from 44 intermediate learners, and six teacher interviews. The hypotheses for this research were; a) English-speaking learners of Arabic make common orthographic errors similar to those of Arabic native speakers; b) English-speaking learners share several common orthographic errors with other learners of Arabic as a second/foreign language (AFL); and c) English-speaking learners of Arabic produce their own common orthographic errors which are specifically related to the differences between the two WSs. The results confirmed all three hypotheses. Specifically, English-speaking learners of L2WS Arabic commonly made six error types: letter ductus (letter shape), orthography (spelling), phonology, letter dots, allographemes (i.e. letterform), and direction. Gemination and L1WS transfer error rates were not found to be major. Another important result showed that five letter groups in addition to two letters are particularly challenging to English-speaking learners. Study results indicated that error causes were likely to be from one of four factors: script confusion, orthographic difficulties, phonological realisation, and teaching/learning strategies. These results are generalizable as the data were collected from several institutions in different parts of the UK. Suggestions and implications as well as recommendations for further research are outlined accordingly in the conclusion chapter.

This thesis investigates the current situation of English teaching, learning and achievement in Macau. It compares the existing situation in English teaching in Macau with an ideal situation found in the literature, and accounts for the discrepancy found between them. Through interviews and the first large scale survey of English teachers of representative ages of students and representative types of schooling in Macau, using perception-based data, a range of problems are identified in English teaching, learning and achievement. These problems are seen to lie in several fields of English and to have multiple causes. The problems are seen to be mutually reinforcing, and the thesis suggests that, because of this, simple solutions are difficult to find. Recommendations for improvement and further research into English teaching are made.